FIFA 2022 hits UK shelves – and shakes up eSports

It’s a resolute pillar of the gaming industry, and this year EA have pushed the FIFA brand to new limits.

Football fans wait with bated breath for the latest iteration of the famous game series every year as they prepare to part with significant amounts of cash for the pleasure – and this year they will not be disappointed.

EA have focused harder to improve the realism of the game, utilising the latest motion capture technology to make player movements look more natural than ever.

The developers claim to have added 4,000 new animations using new Hypermotion technology, which shows in the stunning visuals and realistic player actions.

The beloved Career Mode also makes a return in ’22, so fans are able to take their fictional team to the top of the league.

However, along with the tried and tested favourites, EA have added the all-new Volta Arcade Mode, which is a weekend-only playlist of four-player party games, including dodgeball, Foot Tennis, Team Keepaway, Disco Lava, and others that will be added in the future.

The other main draw of FIFA versus its competitors, is the exclusive agreement it has to feature various Premier League and Bundesliga teams, among others.

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It’s an offer that other titles, such as Konami’s eFootball, have told Sky News they have to struggled to match in the past.

It could be argued that EA’s focus on simulation this year is a beckoning call to former PES players (now eFootball), and to those that want something more realistic than FIFA’s formerly arcade-like feel.

FIFA 22 is already a firm favourite in eSports, just hours after its official release.

David Beckham’s eSports organisation, Guild Esports, hopes to attract Irish FIFA gaming talent to join Guild’s eSports academy, so that they can develop them into future eSport stars.

To do so, they are working with Ireland-based Finn Harps FC, a fan-favourite team (statistically one of the lowest-ranked teams in history on EA sports FIFA games), whose in-game FIFA 22 kit will don Beckham’s Guild branding.

eSports are now becoming increasingly popular with those outside of the gaming bubble.

Jesse Lingard is the latest footballer to purchase a professional eSports team, and admits the industry is only growing.

When asked whether he is any good at FIFA, however, he told Sky News he was better at the real thing.

An in-store copy of the new FIFA game will set players back £55, which is not an unreasonable price for a game genre soon to be offered for free by Konami.

Micro transactions also make a return in FIFA 2022, encouraging the purchase of FIFA points, following the initial outlay for the game.

Whether players will choose the premium experience of a full list of Premier League teams of FIFA, or the free price tag of eFootball remains to be seen.

However, it’s a varied choice this year and one that the market has been missing for a long time.

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